Manistee National Forest

Grand Rapids to Manistee | Camping in Manistee | August 2023

After the funeral weekend was over and Curtis’ siblings had gone home, we stayed an extra day to make a new plan. Our next commitment was about a week and a half away, also in Southwestern Michigan, but we wanted to take advantage of this extra time “off” that we had been given before the busyness of our fall schedule began. We decided that the best place to spend this time would be in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula and Northern part of the Lower Peninsula. The temperature would be optimal for Charlotte’s liking, campsites would be more plentiful, and there were plenty of outdoorsy things we could do. So we planned a laid-back road trip, packed up our things, and hit the road on Tuesday morning.

On our first day, we drove from Grand Rapids up to Manistee National Forest. Curtis used Letterboxing to help find several easy stops along the way to break up the drive. Besides all of the reasons previously listed for traveling North, we had the ambitious goal of attempting to finish visiting all of Michigan’s counties. We had about 18 left spread out between both peninsulas, but definitely enough time to try. Our first stop was at Fisk Knob, the highest point of Kent County. Here we parked and walked up the short hill to take in the views of the surrounding countryside.

After that, we kept driving US-131 North to Reed City. We stopped at Rabadt Park to take another short walk to stretch the legs, letterbox, and see the “Little Mac” bridge. As the name implies, this is a replica of the Mackinac Bridge, which we would be driving across in a few days. By the standards produced here…any suspension bridge over a body of water would constitute a replica of the Big Bridge.

After some more driving and county grabbing, our third and final stop for today was at Grove Hill, Southeast of Cadillac. This is the highest point of the lower peninsula, so in the event that one day the upper peninsula becomes its own state, we can say we’ve been to the highest point of both. And barring a 51st state, it is also a fairly prominent hill of over 300 meters, making it Curtis’ 73rd (though it would be hard to tell just by looking at it). There was a small parking area, and we got out and stood on the top of the little grassy hill and took some pictures.

Then it was time to find a campsite for the next couple nights. We drove into Manistee National Forest, and found ourselves a free campsite near the Manistee River. The campground was a small area with a road looping around, and Charlotte led us in circles on that road over and over before it was time for bed.

We planned to spend the next day just exploring the area, going for more short walks and seeing more roadside attractions while grabbing more counties. The day started out rainy, so we had a late start before making our way North to Crystal Mountain. We knew this area was a ski resort, but weren’t expecting it to be so busy — it turns out there’s also a golf course, spa, shopping…a whole tiny village of tourists! We felt a little out of place driving passed all these things, but eventually we found what we came for: the Michigan Legacy Art Park. The Park consists of a loop trail going through the forest with many sculptures and art installations along the way, most having to do with nature or Michigan.

We waited until the rain turned into a light drizzle, then we grabbed our umbrellas and rain jackets and started on our hike. We ended up going counter-clockwise on the longest loop trail, up and down the hills, admiring all the displays as we went along. The displays are from all sorts of different artists, using different mediums (including the mulch snake) and styles, only loosely connected via Nature and Michigan. Like some of the other sculpture parks we’ve been to it was very unique and enjoyable, with over 50 “exhibits” along the way.

After making it back to the van, we had lunch and then continued our drive. We headed West to the Lake, and then South to the town of Manistee. Most beaches that we passed weren’t dog friendly, but in Manistee the signs only said no dogs on the beach, nothing about the pier. So we took our time walking out to the lighthouse and back. The rain had cleared but a light fog had moved in, obscuring the coast and giving the area a soft, pastel light.

From Manistee, we turned back East, generally towards our campsite. After zigzagging our way back to the campsite to get another county, we made ourselves at home once again, and Curtis set off on a short walk along the North Country Trail.

Curtis: While staying at my parent’s house, I found that the North Country Trail Association had a ‘100 Mile Challenge’, wherein hikers try to hike 100 miles of the trail in a year. We’re a bit late to the party, and I know there is almost zero chance I’ll complete it, but it’s nice to have a goal. I followed the Manistee River downstream enjoying the wild apples and grapes, making it about two and a half miles before turning back. This section of the Manistee is a wild and scenic river, and it would be fun to kayak, especially in the fall during salmon season. Once back at the campground we settled into our evening routine enjoying another peaceful night in the woods, all alone in the campground.

The next day, it was time to make our way to the Upper Peninsula. In order to get another county, we took the scenic drive along the coast, making one more stop in Charlevoix. We parked at the Michigan Beach Park, but since Charlotte couldn’t walk on the beach, we took a little walk around the a nearby neighborhood to see the Thatch House, a very unique vacation rental as well as some other cute ‘Mushroom Houses’. From here to the bridge we retraced our old routes and we pointed out some places we had stopped on our Honeymoon until finally, we crossed the Mackinac Bridge and into the Upper Peninsula!